Goldman Sachs (GS) on Solana

Goldman Sachs has secured outsourced chief investment officer (OCIO) mandates covering a combined $70 billion in retirement assets from Verizon Communications and Lockheed Martin, announced July 9, 2026. The mandates comprise roughly $30 billion in defined benefit pension assets across the two companies and $40 billion in Verizon defined contribution (401k) assets — one of the larger single OCIO wins in recent memory. Marc Nachmann, Goldman's global head of asset and wealth management, cited growing demand from large plan sponsors seeking a single partner with the investment depth to handle complex, bespoke retirement portfolios.

The wins expand Goldman's OCIO book to approximately $480 billion in assets, adding to prior mandates from UPS ($43.4 billion), Shell ($40 billion), and Eli Lilly ($25 billion). Goldman's broader asset and wealth management division now oversees roughly $3.7 trillion. The deals arrive as the US OCIO market — which grew 16% in 2025 and is projected to reach $4.3 trillion by 2030 — draws intensifying competition from BlackRock, Russell Investments, and Mercer, among others.

Goldman Sachs removed Duke Energy (DUK) from its US Conviction List on July 1, 2026, as part of a routine monthly update. The bank did not publicly cite specific reasons for the removal, but maintained its Buy rating on the utility stock, signaling continued positive sentiment despite the lower-conviction designation.

Duke Energy reported stronger-than-expected Q1 2026 results and has reaffirmed its full-year EPS guidance of $6.55–$6.80, alongside a 5–7% long-term growth target through 2030. The utility has also signed 7.6 GW of data center power agreements since 2024, a tailwind that has attracted broader analyst attention; Morgan Stanley raised its price target on the stock by $4 in late June, though it kept an Equal-Weight rating.

Goldman Sachs recently executed a series of fixed income offerings spanning maturities from 2027 to 2046, with fixed coupons and callable structures — a funding push that has drawn renewed scrutiny of the bank's valuation. A Simply Wall St. narrative DCF analysis now estimates GS shares at a fair value of $978.35, placing the current share price of $1,055.29 roughly 7.9% above that level.

The model applies measured revenue growth assumptions and profitability projections while benchmarking against a future P/E of 19.9x — well below the US Capital Markets industry median of 40.8x, where GS currently trades at approximately 19x. The analysis flags geopolitical disruptions to deal pipelines and rising regulatory compliance costs as the primary downside risks, while noting that GS's below-industry earnings multiple complicates a straightforward overvaluation read for investors weighing momentum against price.

Goldman Sachs economist Joseph Briggs is projecting that artificial intelligence could displace roughly 15 million American workers — about 9% of the U.S. workforce — over the next decade. The warning arrives against a soft labor market backdrop: June 2026 payrolls came in at just 57,000 new jobs, well below expectations, with Goldman estimating AI is already suppressing monthly payroll growth by 10,000–15,000 positions. Briggs anchors the 9% figure in a historical pattern where each 1% technology-driven productivity gain has raised job destruction rates by approximately 0.5 percentage points over two years; Goldman projects AI will ultimately deliver a 15% productivity boost at full adoption.

The strain is falling hardest on newer labor market entrants. Gen Z unemployment stands at 8.3%, roughly double the 4.2% national rate, while college graduates aged 22–27 face a 5.6% jobless rate. One-in-three employers surveyed by Goldman said they had replaced entry-level roles with AI rather than hiring. Customer service, back-office administration, and routine cognitive tasks are flagged as most immediately exposed, raising broader questions about whether productivity gains from AI will translate into wage growth or simply compress the bottom of the labor market.

Goldman Sachs has launched a matching benefit program for employees' children enrolled in "Trump Accounts," a federal public-private savings initiative aimed at long-term investing for younger beneficiaries. The bank will match the federal seed contribution made into qualifying accounts, extending participation in the government-backed program to its workforce as part of a broader suite of employee benefits.

Goldman Sachs joins several other major financial institutions — including JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, and Bank of America — in rolling out corporate match programs tied to the Trump Account initiative. The move aligns with the firm's existing consumer and wealth management operations and reflects growing Wall Street engagement with the federal savings framework as employers look to participate in the program alongside the government seed funding.

Oppenheimer downgraded Goldman Sachs (GS) to a sell-equivalent rating from hold, sending shares modestly lower on Tuesday, June 30. The downgrade comes even as Goldman's investment banking division continues to land high-profile mandates, including an advisory role on Martin Marietta's $13.5 billion acquisition of Lhoist North America and a key position in SpaceX's record-breaking IPO earlier in June.

CNBC's Jim Cramer pushed back on the bearish call, arguing Goldman stock could reach $1,200 — implying more than 17% upside from recent levels — citing the bank's sustained deal-making momentum. The divergence between the Oppenheimer downgrade and the bullish fundamental case reflects broader uncertainty about whether Goldman's elevated valuation can be sustained as deal activity eventually normalizes.

Goldman Sachs (GS) has been removed from the Russell 1000, Russell 3000, Russell 3000E, and Russell Top 200 Growth indexes and simultaneously added to the Russell 1000 Value-Defensive and Russell 1000 Defensive indexes as part of FTSE Russell's annual reconstitution in June 2026. The shift is a mechanical outcome of Russell's rules-based style scoring methodology, which evaluates constituent stocks on valuation and growth metrics, and does not reflect any change in Goldman Sachs' underlying business.

The reclassification carries direct implications for passive fund flows: growth-oriented products benchmarked to Russell Growth indexes — which had included GS among their holdings — may trim or exit the position as part of rebalancing, while value and defensive strategies tracking the newly assigned benchmarks are expected to increase their GS exposure. GS shares have gained roughly 47% over the past year, a run that has pushed the stock's valuation multiples into territory more consistent with Russell's value and defensive classification thresholds than its prior growth designation.

Goldman Sachs published its second-half Asia equity outlook on June 29, urging investors to "stick with the winners" as earnings growth — not valuations — continues to drive markets. The bank retained an overweight stance on North Asia, favoring South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, and China's domestic A-shares, with a particular emphasis on technology hardware, capital goods, and banks. Goldman projects the MSCI Asia Pacific ex-Japan Index to deliver mid-teen returns in the second half, underpinned by projected earnings growth of 60% in 2026 and 22% in 2027.

Alongside its equity call, Goldman reinforced the case for commodities diversification, arguing that the same structural forces lifting Asia equities — AI infrastructure, power grid buildout, defense spending, and electric vehicles — are also tightening commodity markets. The bank raised its end-2026 LME copper forecast to $13,735 per metric ton, citing persistent supply deficits, and maintained its gold target of $4,900 per ounce by year-end, driven by sustained central-bank buying as emerging-market reserve managers reduce exposure to traditional reserve assets.

Goldman Sachs analyst James Schneider initiated coverage on Intel (INTC) on June 25, 2026 with a Neutral rating and a $150 price target, implying roughly 12% upside from current levels. Schneider's thesis acknowledges Intel as a potential beneficiary of rising server demand driven by agentic AI workloads and highlights optionality from the company's role as a U.S. foundry champion, including longer-term wafer outsourcing prospects.

Despite those tailwinds, Goldman characterized the risk-reward profile as balanced, noting that rivals AMD and Nvidia offer superior revenue visibility and more attractive valuations at current prices. The initiation reflects Goldman's research team calibrating Intel's AI infrastructure exposure against competitive disadvantages, landing on a hold-equivalent stance rather than a buy recommendation.
---

Goldman Sachs has lowered its 12-month U.S. recession probability from 25% to 15%, returning to long-run historical norms, after a U.S.-Iran agreement eased the oil-price shock that had earlier stoked inflation fears. The bank raised its second-half GDP growth forecast to 2% and projects Brent crude ending 2026 around $80 per barrel, with the national average gasoline price already falling to roughly $3.92 from about $4.51 a month prior. Goldman noted that energy accounted for more than 60% of May's monthly headline CPI increase, making the pullback in fuel costs a meaningful relief for both consumers and the inflation outlook.

Despite the improved headline probability, Goldman flagged several lingering risks: payroll growth is expected to slow sharply toward 60,000-per-month breakeven levels, real consumer spending growth is forecast at just 1.5%, and Federal Reserve communication under new Chair Kevin Warsh remains a potential source of volatility. Core CPI is projected to average 0.17% over the next three months, suggesting gradual disinflation rather than a clean all-clear for the economy.